Riley and K-State Are a Great Match

By: D. Scott Fritchen

Jordan Riley, the pride of Clinton, Maryland, stands adorned in purple inside the Vanier Family Football Complex and wears a smile the size of Muncie, Indiana. The senior transfer safety from Ball State speaks to reporters for the first time since his arrival in Manhattan two weeks ago. He shoots a wry grin as one reporter asks, "What can K-State fans expect from you this year?"

"Domination," he replies. "I'm a very, very electric player. I'm going to come downhill and hit, and I'm great in coverage. They can look for a lot of picks this year."

The 6-foot-1, 189-pound Riley, who turns 22 years old in March, says that he is huge into nutrition, huge into lifting weights, and huge into building relationships with his new teammates. He's learning the playbook. He's studying video. He's everything that Joe Klanderman hoped for and expected after the K-State defensive coordinator spoke with strength staff and coaches in Muncie prior to shaking Riley's hand for the first time during a late-night meeting in early December. Other FBS teams sought Riley's services, his tackling ability, his movement in the defensive backfield, his prowess and hard-hitting approach that made him one of the most-feared defensive backs in the Mid-American Conference.

But Riley believed this: K-State was different than the other schools.

How could he turn down Klanderman, who traveled to visit? How could he say no to K-State, which came off one of its best years defensively in the past decade? How could he say no to the prospect of competing on the major-college stage in one of the top conferences in the nation and doing so in front of 50,000 fans in the No. 1 college town in America? The TV cameras will be everywhere. Will the glare be too bright under the lights? No, Riley insists. They will not be too bright.

"I really can't wait," he says. "I've never played in front of 50,000 people. I can't wait for the first game. I'm just really anticipating that day."

Oh, there's so much to do before the Wildcats kick off the 2024 season against UT Martin on August 31. But that night in Muncie, in that meeting, Klanderman quizzed Riley on Xs and Os to see "how I knew football" and if coach and player spoke the same football language. Klanderman described the Jack safety position to Riley. This was new. Riley had never played the Jack safety position before. In fact, he hadn't played in anything quite like K-State's defense. Ball State utilized four linebackers and two high safeties. There was no Jack position, but there was a nickelback. So, Klanderman explained the three-high safety look as they discussed the film of K-State's defense.

"Coach Klanderman came down and talked about it and talked me through the defense, and I made valid sense," Riley says. "It really just helped me to hone-in on why I should come here."

For Klanderman, who also serves as the safeties coach for the Wildcats, the addition of Riley at the Jack position was a no-brainer behind his physicality and playmaking ability. Riley, an All-MAC selection who played in 37 games over three seasons with 24 starts in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, possesses the tools. This past season, he had 61 tackles to go along with 3.0 tackles for a loss, eight passes defended and a fumble recovery. In 2022, he had 97 tackles, 3.0 tackles for a loss, one sack, 12 pass breakups and a forced fumble.

"The biggest thing about him is his versatility," Klanderman says. "He's played corner, nickel and both safety positions over there. There are a lot of things he's already done from a skill-set standpoint, and it shows he has the ability to learn, and that's why we brought him here. He can contribute right away. We didn't bring him here and hope he'd figure it out eventually. We hoped he'd figure it out really quickly so we could get it going quickly."

Klanderman did his homework across the board on Riley.

"The biggest draw to him in recruiting was — and we do more homework than most people do — everybody we talked with over there in Muncie had good things to say about him, from the strength staff to the coaches," Klanderman says. "Sometimes you run into these guys you really like on tape and when you do background on them people don't necessarily discourage you but there's no excitement in their voice when they talk about them.

"When people talk about Jordan, everybody is like, 'Oh yeah, he's the guy.' Everybody is really enthusiastic about him. That speaks to him as much as anything he's done on tape."

George and Danielle Riley must be so proud of their son. A marketing major, Jordan starred at National Christian (Md.) Academy and competed in wrestling and track and field. Interestingly, he started his freshman season at defensive tackle — yes — defensive tackle. "I was like, 'Yeah, this isn't the position for me,'" he says. He eventually moved to running back and then defensive back.

"When I was a wrestler, my favorite move was the 'blast double,'" Riley says. "That's literally how you tackle in football. That translates easily to the field and definitely when tackling in space. The closing space is right leg up, left leg up, which is literally the same as a 'blast double.'"

In the fall, Riley hopes to blast off. For now, he consumes himself with nutrition, training and studying the playbook.

"I'm learning how the Jack plays an important role on the defense, and I'm learning the different play calls, because the Jack really is the heart of the defense, the quarterback of the defense," Riley says. "I need to know my role and everybody else's role and having time to develop going into camp is big."

As could be Riley's impact and potential.

"He's going to bring a lot of leadership," Klanderman says. "He's already blending in really well with our guys in the workouts that they're doing. He's going to bring some veteran presence, which is a big deal, as we'll be young in a few spots. He's going to allow us to do some things where we maybe have more defensive backs on the field than we have at times in the past."

For now, the learning process continues.

"This was a great move for me," Riley says.

And it could be a great move for Klanderman and the Wildcats.

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